MICSCAPE - Exploring the miniature world

Issue 323 : February 2023 (ISSN 1365 - 070x)      Monthly, next issue March 13th 2023.


SEM image of a diatom.
Image by Mary Ann Tiffany.


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please use this link or the green email button on the top menu.

Please do not contact the above for image permissions. Each article contributor retains the copyright to their material so should be contacted directly via the link in the relevant article. Thank you.

Comments on Micscape and contributions welcomed.
Contributions: Any modern format welcomed i.e. pdf. doc/docx with embedded images, or html + jpegs.

SEM images of diatom fossils from Dunkirk, Maryland, early Miocene age - by Mary Ann Tiffany (USA), with notes on the images by Richard Carter (China), suite edited and expanded by Rob Kimmich (USA) from the resource formerly hosted on Bill Dailey's (USA) website.

Who was Horatio Saltonstall Greenough? Part 5 - continues the extensive illustrated appraisal of the development of the first stereo microscope in Greenough's association with Zeiss using original documents, presented by Berndt-Joachim Lau (Germany) and R. Jordan Kreindler (USA). PDF

Roatán - a return to microscopy - G. Joseph Wilhelm (Honduras) shares his experiences of settling in to living on the island off Honduras. A day's events includes rescuing the pet parrot from the clutches of a boa constrictor! PDF

A rare protozoan, Gastrocirrhus - Jean-Marie Cavanihac (France) describes and illustrates this marine organism. PDF

Winter beachcombing - Christian Autotte (Canada) explores his local habitats. PDF

The nature lover's friend - Fritz Schulze (Canada) describes and illustrates the features of this Zeiss accessory which converted pocket binoculars into a stereo microscope. PDF

Does size matter? - Richard L. Howey (USA) explores some examples of Nature's extremes.

Well, Rats! - Jennie Lawrence (USA) begins an exploration of a donated set of 1940's slides by sharing some well documented rat sections. PDF

Microscopical exploration twenty-one, seeds under the 'scope - James Stewart (UK) shares a gallery of the forms found from the kitchen and garden. PDF

Trumpets, vases and micro-whales - Richard L. Howey (USA) shares examples of these forms from Nature.

Micscape Lite - contributors sharing their other interests

The appeal of one page stamp exhibits - David Walker (UK) shares six examples—snow crystals, slide rules, diatoms, radiolaria, HMS challenger expedition, Brontë sisters.

    Brian Johnston R.I.P. My co-webmaster Mol Smith and I only recently heard of the passing away of Brian in July 2022, aged 77 from an obituary on the legacy.com website. We are extremely sad to hear of this and offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends. Regular readers will be aware of Brian's superb Micscape articles (over 200) exploring plants and their flowers on a macro / micro scale and his striking explorations of crystals under the polarising microscope.
     
    This index compiles all his contributions including indexes with thumbnails of The Colourful World of Chemical Crystals and A Flower Garden of Macroscopic Delights. His interests also extended to intricate 3D mathematical models.

    Richard Howey shared his own tribute to Brian's work in 2014 when Brian decided to 'retire' from contributing. David Walker and Mol Smith, Microscopy-UK co-webmasters.

     

    We are delighted to receive contributions small or large from microscopy enthusiasts whether a novice or expert. If you have an image, tip or article, why not share it, this magazine is what you make it!

     

Archive
Look for that elusive article on our site:
Micscape Magazine past issues online
(read articles online using the original illustrated index for each month).
Article Library (browse articles by category)
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News - special notices - misc.


External links. Updated April 2020. Below are some of our favourites, which includes sites with extensive links and/or resources for the optical microscopy enthusiast.

External Microscopy forums: Places to discuss the hobby or to raise queries.
www.photomacrography.net
forums, galleries, articles on macroscopy and photomicrography.

groups.io (formerly Yahoo groups):
Amateur Microscopy
Diatom Forum
Microscopy as a hobby or profession
Wild Microscopes

Facebook groups:
Amateur Microscopy (>21000 members, very active). Also specialist groups e.g. for users of given maker's microscopes (e.g. Zeiss, Olympus, Wild, Vickers). Also try a Facebook Group search with keywords like microscope or microscopy to find these.

Other:
Microbe hunter the website ably run by Oliver Kim has built up a popular and valuable forum with help for both the beginner and more advanced user.

Listservers:
Algae-L
'Forum for marine, freshwater and terrestrial algae'. Access to Archives possible for non-subscribers.
Diatom-L 'Research on the diatom algae.' Access to Archives for subscribers only. Link was current March 2016. Many online diatom resources point to an outdated Indiana Univ. listserver. (With thanks to Rob Kimmich for the current link.)

Mikroskopie-Treff.de (Extensive German microscopy forum; some English categories.)
Mikrobiologische Vereinigung München e. V. Wide range of articles and resources in German.
Le Naturaliste French based forum and image gallery for micro / macro but open to non French speaking international contributors.

The Amateur Diatomist archive This magazine resource ably created and administered by Steve Gill has now been ported to the Microscopy-UK site with Steve's permission as the former host server is now not available.
As well as all the issues in pdf format there are a wealth of other resources in the Downloads section including by noted workers such as Barber and the complete 532 page book 'An Introduction to the Microscopical Study of Diatoms' by Robert B. McLaughlin.

Diatoms of the Arid South West Originally hosted on the website of New Mexico State University, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Services. Archived with permission from Dave Richman, resource editor, and C. Scott Bundy of the NMSU.

Other sites (also see Societies and Clubs page.)
Royal Microscopy Society Journal, 'infocus' and other resources for members and the community.
Quekett Microscopical Club Journal, Bulletin and meetings for members.
Light Microscopy Forum links and articles
Little Imp Publications public domain books collated by Steve Gill formerly on CD and now free on Micscape.
Mikroskop Museum German website with resources on microscopes / makers .
Molecular Expressions awesome optical microscopy resources
Dennis Kunkel's SEM images stunning images
Diatoms Ireland - resource site by Leszek Wolnik
Leitz museum an illustrated resource compiled by Robert Allen
Microbe hunter microscopy enthusiast website, forum and magazine edited by Oliver Kim
Microscopies online magazine and Forum for French speakers
Micrographia articles, projects for the enthusiast
Microscopy Today
journal with online archive
Modern Microscopy
online journal by McCrone Group
Fun Science Gallery projects, articles on optics in English and Italian.
Independent Generation of Research (IGoR) - Wiki style resource for citizen scientists to share their work.
Lens On Leeuwenhoek - extensive resource online by Douglas Anderson
Collected Letters of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek ('Alle de Brieven ..') transcribed and free online at DBNL.
A Cabinet of Curiosities a resource on Victorian microscope slides by Howard Lynk
'Diatoms Ireland' resource by Leszek Wolnik
Historical makers of microscopes and microscope slides Brian Stevenson's extensive resource .
Victorian slide makers
Cambridge rocking microtome resources including manual
www.willemsmicroscope.com Dutch enthusiast Willem Cramer's website
David Jackson's Better Microscopy blog. Regularly updated free resources extending from his 'Better Microscopy' series of books.
Stefano Barone's Diatom Shop
sale of his own prepared and arranged slides of diatoms, radiolaria, forams and scales.
www.testslides.com website devoted to Stefano Barone's Diatom Lab test slides.
Darwin Biological a UK company for 'biological education' supplies. Including live cultures of protozoa and algae.
Microscopie van de Natuur Dutch microscopy resource site by Rolf Vossen.
 

Microscopy-UK
parent site coordinator:
Maurice Smith


Microscopy-UK and Micscape - established 1995
Micscape is a free magazine for enthusiasts funded by Microscopy-UK and dedicated to non-commercial microscopy.
© Onview.net Ltd, Microscopy-UK, and all contributors 1995 onwards. All rights reserved. Main site is at www.microscopy-uk.org.uk